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Moulton walks out of 'moment of silence'

By Kori Tuitt, ktuitt@lowellsun.com and Robert Mills rmills@lowellsun.com

Updated:
06/15/2016 12:18:40 PM EDT

U.S. Rep. Seth Moulton's comments landed him on the front page of Wednesday's New York Daily News.

Two Bay State congressmen, including Rep. Seth Moulton, say they will no longer take part in House "moments of silence" for victims of gun violence because they say Republicans aren't interested in solutions.

U.S. Reps. Moulton and Katherine Clark walked out of such an observance in the House chambers for Orlando massacre victims on Monday night, following the lead of U.S. Rep. Jim Himes of Connecticut.

"@HouseGOP routinely holds 'Moments of Silence' after each mass shooting -- underscoring their cowardly silence on even VOTING on gun reform," tweeted Moulton, whose North Shore 6th District extends into Billerica, Tewksbury and Wilmington.

On Tuesday, Moulton told The Sun that failing to even debate or vote on legislation to improve safety is "an abrogation of our duties."

"The people of Massachusetts didn't send me to Washington to stand in silence," Moulton said. "They sent me here to take action to keep our communities safe."

Asked if he worried about appearing insensitive with the move, Moulton said no, and said it was his constituents who asked him to do more.

"I've tweeted thoughts and prayers and people responded to that and said, 'Thoughts and prayers aren't working,'" Moulton said. "I was listening to my constituents when I said we need to do more."

Moulton said he is part of a bipartisan group of representatives who meet weekly to look for issues where they can find common ground, and that the group met Tuesday. While Moulton feels the group "made some progress," he also said it reached no conclusions.

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"There are common sense things that both Republicans and Democrats should agree on, like preventing people on the terrorist watch list or the no-fly list from purchasing guns," Moulton said.

He also said both parties should agree on preventing the sale of military-grade assault rifles such as the one he used while serving in Iraq, describing them as "something we don't need in our communities."

While the military deploys rifles that are capable of automatic fire, AR-15 rifles, such as the one used in Orlando, are capable of only semiautomatic fire.

Moulton said some people claim they need weapons like AR-15s for hunting.

"If you need an AR-15 to hunt, you need to learn how to hunt," he said.

Clark also took to Twitter and Facebook to express her opposition.

"We can't reduce gun violence with silence," Clark wrote on her Facebook page. "Victims and their families need us to fight terror and hate, they need a Congress that will act."

Capt. Mark Kelly, a combat veteran, told The Sun in a statement that he supports Moulton's decision. Kelly and his wife, former Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, are co-founders of Americans for Responsible Solutions, an organization focused on ending gun violence. In 2011, Giffords was shot in a mass shooting.

"As a fellow veteran of our armed forces, he believes in the Second Amendment and also knows that we can't allow dangerous people like felons and domestic abusers to have easy access to guns," Kelly said.

U.S. Rep. Niki Tsongas said she took part in the moment of silence to show respect and compassion for the victims and their families. However, she said a moment of "silence is no substitute for meaningful action."

"I share the frustration and anger that so many Americans feel, as do many of my Democratic colleagues, over Congress' unwillingness to address the startling prevalence of gun violence in America," Tsongas said in a statement to The Sun.

U.S. Rep. James McGovern, of Worcester, attended the moment of silence, but also called congress to pass legislation preventing those on the no-fly list, to ban assault weapons, and to pass legislation preventing those convicted of hate crimes of purchasing guns.

"Plain and simple, if you're too dangerous to fly, you're too dangerous to buy a gun," McGovern said in a speech on the House floor.

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